# 1980–81 Dallas Mavericks season

The 1980–81 Dallas Mavericks season was the first season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

## Expansion draft

| Player | Position | Team |
| Del Beshore | Guard | Chicago Bulls |
| Winford Boynes | Forward | New Jersey Nets |
| Alonzo Bradley | Forward | Houston Rockets |
| Mike Bratz | Guard | Phoenix Suns |
| Marty Byrnes | Forward | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Austin Carr | Guard | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Jim Cleamons | Forward | Washington Bullets |
| Terry Duerod | Guard | Detroit Pistons |
| Jack Givens | Forward | Atlanta Hawks |
| Joe Hassett | Guard | Indiana Pacers |
| Geoff Huston | Guard | New York Knicks |
| Abdul Jeelani | Forward | Portland Trail Blazers |
| Jeff Judkins | Forward | Boston Celtics |
| Arvid Kramer | Center | Denver Nuggets |
| Tom LaGarde | Center | Seattle SuperSonics |
| Bill McKinney | Guard | Kansas City Kings |
| Wiley Peck | Guard | San Antonio Spurs |
| Bingo Smith | Guard | San Diego Clippers |
| Jim Spanarkel | Guard | Philadelphia 76ers |
| Raymond Townsend | Guard | Golden State Warriors |
| Richard Washington | Forward | Milwaukee Bucks |
| Jerome Whitehead | Center | Utah Jazz |

## Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 11 | Kiki Vandeweghe | SF | United States | UCLA |
| 2 | 34 | Rossevelt Bouie | PG | United States | Syracuse |
| 3 | 57 | Dave Britton | SG | United States | Texas A&M |
* Kiki Vandeweghe of UCLA was drafted by the Mavs with the 11th pick of the 1980 NBA draft, but Vandeweghe refused to play for the expansion Mavericks and staged a holdout that lasted a month into the team's inaugural season. Vandeweghe was traded to the Denver Nuggets, along with a first-round pick in 1981, in exchange for two future first-round picks

## Regular season
### Season standings

| Midwest Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-San Antonio Spurs | 52 | 30 | .634 | – | 34–7 | 18–23 | 21–9 |
| x-Kansas City Kings | 40 | 42 | .488 | 12.0 | 24–17 | 16–25 | 19–11 |
| x-Houston Rockets | 40 | 42 | .488 | 12.0 | 25–16 | 15–26 | 19–11 |
| Denver Nuggets | 37 | 45 | .451 | 15.0 | 23–18 | 14–27 | 13–17 |
| Utah Jazz | 28 | 54 | .341 | 24.0 | 20–21 | 8–33 | 13–17 |
| Dallas Mavericks | 15 | 67 | .183 | 37.0 | 11–30 | 4–37 | 5–25 |
| # | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | c-Phoenix Suns | 57 | 25 | .695 | – |
| 2 | y-San Antonio Spurs | 52 | 30 | .634 | 5 |
| 3 | x-Los Angeles Lakers | 54 | 28 | .659 | 3 |
| 4 | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 45 | 37 | .549 | 12 |
| 5 | x-Kansas City Kings | 40 | 42 | .488 | 17 |
| 6 | x-Houston Rockets | 40 | 42 | .488 | 17 |
| 7 | Golden State Warriors | 39 | 43 | .476 | 18 |
| 8 | Denver Nuggets | 37 | 45 | .451 | 20 |
| 9 | San Diego Clippers | 36 | 46 | .439 | 21 |
| 10 | Seattle SuperSonics | 34 | 48 | .415 | 23 |
| 11 | Utah Jazz | 28 | 54 | .341 | 29 |
| 12 | Dallas Mavericks | 15 | 67 | .183 | 42 |
Notes
* z, y – division champions
* x – clinched playoff spot

### Record vs. opponents

1980-81 NBA Records :
| Team | ATL | BOS | CHI | CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GSW | HOU | IND | KCK | LAL | MIL | NJN | NYK | PHI | PHO | POR | SAS | SDC | SEA | UTA | WAS |
| Atlanta | – | 2–4 | 2–4 | 1–5 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–5 | 3–2 | 2–4 | 1–5 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–4 |
| Boston | 4–2 | – | 5–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 6–0 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–1 |
| Chicago | 4–2 | 1–5 | – | 5–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 5–1 |
| Cleveland | 5–1 | 1–4 | 1–5 | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–6 | 3–3 | 0–5 | 0–6 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 |
| Dallas | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – | 3–3 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 0–6 | 0–2 | 0–6 | 0–5 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 1–5 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 1–5 | 0–2 |
| Denver | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | – | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2–4 | 0–2 |
| Detroit | 2–4 | 1–4 | 1–5 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | – | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–5 | 3–3 | 1–5 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–5 |
| Golden State | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 2–0 | – | 3–2 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 1–4 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 4–1 | 1–1 |
| Houston | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 6–0 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | – | 1–1 | 2–4 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 1–4 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 0–2 |
| Indiana | 5–1 | 3–3 | 2–3 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–4 | 5–1 | 3–2 | 0–6 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 |
| Kansas City | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 6–0 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 4–2 | 0–2 | – | 0–5 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 5–1 | 1–1 |
| Los Angeles | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 5–0 | – | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 2–3 | 3–3 | 6–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 |
| Milwaukee | 5–1 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 6–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | – | 5–1 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 |
| New Jersey | 2–3 | 0–6 | 2–3 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–5 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–5 | – | 0–6 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 |
| New York | 4–2 | 1–5 | 3–3 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 6–0 | – | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–2 |
| Philadelphia | 5–1 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 6–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 6–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 5–1 | 3–3 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–2 |
| Phoenix | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 3–3 | 3–2 | 6–0 | 5–1 | 5–0 | 1–1 |
| Portland | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | – | 2–3 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 2–3 | 2–0 |
| San Antonio | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 3–2 | – | 4–1 | 3–2 | 5–1 | 1–1 |
| San Diego | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–6 | 2–4 | 1–4 | – | 5–1 | 3–2 | 0–2 |
| Seattle | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–6 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–5 | 2–4 | 2–3 | 1–5 | – | 4–1 | 1–1 |
| Utah | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–5 | 3–2 | 1–5 | 2–3 | 1–4 | – | 0–2 |
| Washington | 4–1 | 1–5 | 1–5 | 2–4 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | — |

## Game log
### Regular season

1980–81 game log Total: 15–67 (Home: 11–30; Road: 4–37) :
October: 2–10 (home: 1–3; road: 1–7)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
October 11
San Antonio Spurs
W 103–92
Winford Boynes (21)
Tom LaGarde (10)
Huston, LaGarde (5)
Reunion Arena 10,373
1–0
2
October 14
Seattle
L 83–85
Geoff Huston (19)
Tom LaGarde (11)
Geoff Huston (7)
Reunion Arena 7,004
1–1
3
October 15 8:35 p.m. CDT
@ Denver
L 98–133
Jim Spanarkel (15)
Jerome Whitehead (10)
Geoff Huston (6)
McNichols Sports Arena 6,658
1–2
4
October 17
Kansas City
L 91–103
Geoff Huston (28)
Tom LaGarde (8)
Tom LaGarde (6)
Reunion Arena 7,017
1–3
5
October 18
@ San Antonio
L 96–110
Tom LaGarde (16)
Tom LaGarde (9)
Three players (4)
HemisFair Arena 9,542
1–4
6
October 21
@ Phoenix
L 99–111
Jim Spanarkel (20)
Richard Washington (11)
Geoff Huston (6)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,507
1–5
7
October 22
@ Seattle
W 107–102
Richard Washington (24)
Richard Washington (9)
Tom LaGarde (9)
Seattle Kingdome 14,125
2–5
8
October 24
@ Portland
L 105–120
Winford Boynes (18)
Jeelani, LaGarde (7)
Tom LaGarde (6)
Memorial Coliseum 12,666
2–6
9
October 25
@ Golden State
L 79–86
Jim Spanarkel (16)
Tom LaGarde (11)
Geoff Huston (7)
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 6,750
2–7
10
October 28
Utah
L 96–104
Geoff Huston (26)
Richard Washington (16)
Geoff Huston (5)
Reunion Arena 5,720
2–8
11
October 29
@ Houston
L 103–109
Jim Spanarkel (19)
Five players (4)
Geoff Huston (6)
The Summit 6,123
2–9
12
October 31
@ Utah
L 122–144
Geoff Huston (24)
Tom LaGarde (9)
Darrell Allums (4)
Salt Palace 5,703
2–10 :
November: 1–12 (home: 1–7; road: 0–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
13
November 4
San Diego
L 102–116
Tom LaGarde (23)
Tom LaGarde (12)
Huston (5)
Reunion Arena 5,431
2–11
14
November 6
@ Washington
L 95–116
Terry Duerod (22)
Tom LaGarde (9)
Geoff Huston (8)
Capital Centre 6,295
2–12
15
November 7 7:30 p.m. CST
Los Angeles
L 102–126
Duerod, Huston (16)
Byrnes, Lloyd (8)
Tom LaGarde (7)
Reunion Arena 17,481
2–13
16
November 8
@ Detroit
L 73–101
Huston, Robinzine (14)
Tom LaGarde (10)
LaGarde, Spanarkel (2)
Pontiac Silverdome 4,584
2–14
17
November 11
Houston
L 94–105
Bill Robinzine (18)
Tom LaGarde (13)
Terry Duerod (6)
Reunion Arena 5,472
2–15
18
November 14
Portland
W 113–106
Four players (19)
Tom LaGarde (14)
Geoff Huston (9)
Reunion Arena 6,103
3–15
19
November 16 9:00 p.m. CST
@ Los Angeles
L 102–110
Huston Spanarkel (28)
Lloyd, Spanarkel (8)
Scott Lloyd (10)
The Forum 10,893
3–16
20
November 18
Phoenix
L 91–102
Geoff Huston (19)
Scott Lloyd (13)
Geoff Huston (6)
Reunion Arena 6,015
3–17
21
November 21
Seattle
L 91–101
Geoff Huston (20)
LaGarde, Robinzine (9)
Tom LaGarde (6)
Reunion Arena 6,514
3–18
22
November 23
@ Portland
L 96–116
Geoff Huston (23)
Tom LaGarde (9)
Huston, Jeelani (5)
Memorial Coliseum 12,666
3–19
23
November 25
Philadelphia
L 92–108
Jim Spanarkel (20)
Bill Robinzine (10)
Jim Spanarkel (5)
Reunion Arena 13,527
3–20
24
November 28 7:30 p.m. CST
Denver
L 117–119 (OT)
Tom LaGarde (22)
Scott Lloyd (16)
Geoff Huston (9)
Reunion Arena 7,713
3–21
25
November 29
@ Houston
L 90–115
Abdul Jeelani (24)
Scott Lloyd (9)
Jeelani, LaGarde (5)
The Summit 8,123
3–22 :
December: 2–14 (home: 2–5; road: 0–9)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
26
December 2
Cleveland
L 102–109
Robinzine, Spanarkel (18)
Tom LaGarde (13)
Geoff Huston (7)
Reunion Arena 5,117
3–23
27
December 5 6:30 p.m. CST
@ Boston
L 87–97
Bill Robinzine (24)
Tom LaGarde (12)
Geoff Huston (7)
Boston Garden 14,351
3–24
28
December 6
@ Atlanta
L 104–110
Tom LaGarde (26)
Tom LaGarde (8)
LaGarde, Spanarkel (4)
Omni Coliseum 7,347
3–25
29
December 9 7:30 p.m. CST
Los Angeles
L 92–103
Geoff Huston (19)
Tom LaGarde (12)
Huston, Spanarkel (5)
Reunion Arena 9,313
3–26
30
December 10 8:35 p.m. CST
@ Denver
L 107–116
Geoff Huston (27)
LaGarde]], Robinzine (11)
Brad Davis (9)
McNichols Sports Arena 7,768
3–27
31
December 12
San Diego
W 112–109 (OT)
Jim Spanarkel (22)
Tom LaGarde (10)
Brad Davis (6)
Reunion Arena 6,457
4–27
32
December 13
@ Kansas City
L 107–114
Tom LaGarde (22)
Tom LaGarde (9)
Huston, Spanarkel (5)
Kemper Arena 5,578
4–28
33
December 16
San Antonio
L 83–89
Geoff Huston (17)
Bill Robinzine (12)
Geoff Huston (8)
Reunion Arena 6,140
4–29
34
December 17
@ Phoenix
L 102–115
Jim Spanarkel (25)
Jim Spanarkel (8)
Jim Spanarkel (7)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,247
4–30
35
December 18
@ San Diego
L 92–102
Bill Robinzine (23)
Bill Robinzine (13)
Davis, Huston (5)
San Diego Sports Arena 7,167
4–31
36
December 20
Golden State
L 98–101
Geoff Huston (20)
LaGarde, Robinzine (10)
Davis (7)
Reunion Arena 5,848
4–32
37
December 23
Utah
L 96–101
Bill Robinzine (23)
Scott Lloyd (11)
Brad Davis (10)
Reunion Arena 5,736
4–33
38
December 26 7:30 p.m. CST
Denver
W 119–111
Abdul Jeelani (20)
Scott Lloyd (16)
Brad Davis (7)
Reunion Arena 8,293
5–33
39
December 27
@ Milwaukee
L 96–112
Bill Robinzine (16)
LaGarde, Robinzine (6)
Brad Davis (8)
MECCA Arena 11,052
5–34
40
December 29
@ Cleveland
L 100–112
Bill Robinzine (23)
Bill Robinzine (14)
Geoff Huston (6)
Coliseum at Richfield 3,884
5–35
41
December 30
@ New York
L 98–100
Jim Spanarkel (26)
Tom LaGarde (17)
Brad Davis (6)
Madison Square Garden 10,559
5–36 :
January: 3–9 (home: 2–4; road: 1–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
42
January 2
Houston
L 120–124 (OT)
Geoff Huston] (29)
Tom LaGarde (9)
Geoff Huston (11)
Reunion Arena 7,872
5–37
43
January 5
@ Seattle
L 89–103
Geoff Huston (21)
Bill Robinzine (10)
Geoff Huston (6)
Seattle Kingdome 12,210
5–38
44
January 7
@ Golden State
W 111–109
Geoff Huston (24)
Bill Robinzine (14)
Geoff Huston (8)
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 7,246
6–38
45
January 8
@ Utah
L 97–99
Tom LaGarde (24)
Bill Robinzine (12)
Brad Davis (6)
Salt Palace 7,239
6–39
46
January 10
Washington
L 94–106
Huston, Spanarkel (20)
Bill Robinzine (18)
Geoff Huston (5)
Reunion Arena 8,021
6–40
47
January 13
Chicago
W 112–106
Bill Robinzine (26)
Bill Robinzine (8)
Brad Davis (9)
Reunion Arena 5,771
7–40
48
January 16
New York
W 118–110
Geoff Huston (24)
Bill Robinzine (12)
Geoff Huston (7)
Reunion Arena 10,473
8–40
49
January 18
@ San Diego
L 109–115
Tom LaGarde (18)
Scott Lloyd (11)
Geoff Huston (8)
San Diego Sports Arena 3,980
8–41
50
January 20
Kansas City
L 91–104
Bill Robinzine (25)
Tom LaGarde (16)
Brad Davis (7)
Reunion Arena 5,899
8–42
51
January 23
@ Chicago
L 98–106
Oliver Mack (22)
Tom LaGarde (12)
Geoff Huston (6)
Chicago Stadium 7,836
8–43
52
January 24
@ Indiana
L 89–107
Tom LaGarde (15)
Three players (6)
Bill Robinzine (6)
Market Square Arena 12,636
8–44
53
January 27
New Jersey
L 100–112
Tom LaGarde (22)
Bill Robinzine (10)
Oliver Mack (7)
Reunion Arena 5,727
8–45 :
February: 1–13 (home: 0–7; road: 1–6)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
54
February 3
Kansas City
L 100–121
Geoff Huston (23)
Tom LaGarde (13)
Oliver Mack (5)
Reunion Arena 5,335
8–46
55
February 4
@ Houston
L 68–116
Bill Robinzine (14)
LaGarde, Robinzine (6)
Three players (5)
The Summit 8,353
8–47
56
February 6
Atlanta
L 98–100
Bill Robinzine (16)
Scott Lloyd (8)
Brad Davis (6)
Reunion Arena 6,882
8–48
57
February 8
@ San Antonio
L 98–102
Three players (15)
Bill Robinzine (10)
Brad Davis (6)
HemisFair Arena 8,918
8–49
58
February 10
Detroit
L 95–101
Jim Spanarkel (23)
Bill Robinzine (15)
Brad Davis (9)
Reunion Arena 5,047
8–50
59
February 11
@ Phoenix
L 97–119
Tom LaGarde (20)
LaGarde, Lloyd (7)
Tom LaGarde (5)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,357
8–51
60
February 14
San Antonio
L 99–107
Jim Spanarkel (22)
Scott Lloyd (7)
Brad Davis (7)
Reunion Arena 9,826
8–52
61
February 15 4:00 p.m. CST
@ Los Angeles
L 99–107
Oliver Mack (19)
Clarence Kea (13)
Brad Davis (6)
The Forum 11,920
8–53
62
February 17
Milwaukee
L 106–114
Brad Davis (24)
Oliver Mack (9)
Brad Davis (7)
Reunion Arena 7,068
8–54
63
February 20
@ Philadelphia
L 109–117
Oliver Mack (19)
Bill Robinzine (8)
Jim Spanarkel (4)
The Spectrum 10,642
8–55
64
February 22
@ New Jersey
W 132–109
Oliver Mack (28)
Scott Lloyd (11)
Brad Davis (7)
Rutgers Athletic Center 7,849
9–55
65
February 24
Seattle
L 84–102
Jim Spanarkel (15)
Tom LaGarde (14)
Brad Davis (7)
Reunion Arena 6,525
9–56
66
February 26
@ Kansas City
L 102–105
Clarence Kea (19)
Tom LaGarde (12)
Brad Davis (16)
Kemper Arena 8,701
9–57
67
February 27
Indiana
L 111–118
Oliver Mack (26)
Clarence Kea (10)
Brad Davis (8)
Reunion Arena 7,359
9–58 :
March: 6–9 (home: 5–4; road: 1–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
68
March 1
San Diego
W 99–91
Oliver Mack (24)
Lloyd, Mack (8)
Brad Davis (12)
Reunion Arena 4,858
10–58
69
March 3 7:30 p.m. CST
Boston
L 105–117
Brad Davis (31)
Tom LaGarde (8)
Brad Davis (13)
Reunion Arena 15,593
10–59
70
March 6
@ Golden State
L 109–115
Tom LaGarde (22)
Bill Robinzine (9)
Brad Davis (9)
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 8,694
10–60
71
March 8
@ San Antonio
L 108–133
Clarence Kea (22)
Clarence Kea (10)
Brad Davis (6)
HemisFair Arena 8,251
10–61
72
March 10
Phoenix
W 107–103
Jim Spanarkel (25)
Tom LaGarde (14)
Brad Davis (9)
Reunion Arena 6,469
11–61
73
March 12
Golden State
W 120–118
Jim Spanarkel (26)
Bill Robinzine (11)
Brad Davis (14)
Reunion Arena 5,380
12–61
74
March 15
@ Portland
L 110–135
Abdul Jeelani (31)
Abdul Jeelani (6)
Brad Davis (9)
Memorial Coliseum 12,666
12–62
75
March 17 7:30 p.m. CST
Los Angeles
L 109–114
Bill Robinzine (26)
Tom LaGarde(15)
Brad Davis (16)
Reunion Arena 17,828
12–63
76
March 18
@ Utah
L 113–120
Davis, Byrnes (25)
Scott Lloyd (8)
Brad Davis (10)
Salt Palace 5,248
12–64
77
March 20 7:30 p.m. CST
Denver
W 126–125
Byrnes, Robinzine (22)
Bill Robinzine (15)
Brad Davis (10)
Reunion Arena 6,359
13–64
78
March 21
Utah
W 105–95
Davis, Robinzine (20)
Bill Robinzine (13)
Brad Davis (12)
Reunion Arena 7,416
14–64
79
March 24
Houston
L 111–114 OT
Davis, LaGarde (19)
Tom LaGarde (11)
Brad Davis (14)
Reunion Arena 7,162
14–65
80
March 25 8:35 p.m. CST
@ Denver
W 126–115
Brad Davis (25)
Abdul Jeelani (11)
Brad Davis (10)
McNichols Sports Arena 14,035
15–65
81
March 27
Portland
L 109–123
Scott Lloyd (28)
Tom LaGarde (9)
Brad Davis (11)
Reunion Arena 11,203
15–66
82
March 29
@ Kansas City
L 104–113
Marty Byrnes (24)
Bill Robinzine (6)
Brad Davis (8)
Kemper Arena 7,171
15–67 :
1980–81 schedule :

## Player statistics
### Regular season

| Player | POS | GP | GS | MP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Tom LaGarde | PF | 82 | 82 | 2,670 | 665 | 237 | 35 | 45 | 1,122 | 32.6 | 8.1 | 2.9 | .4 | .5 | 13.7 |
| Jim Spanarkel | SF | 82 | | 2,317 | 297 | 232 | 117 | 20 | 1,184 | 28.3 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 1.4 | .2 | 14.4 |
| Scott Lloyd | C | 72 | | 2,186 | 454 | 159 | 34 | 25 | 637 | 30.4 | 6.3 | 2.2 | .5 | .3 | 8.8 |
| Marty Byrnes | SF | 72 | | 1,360 | 177 | 113 | 29 | 17 | 561 | 18.9 | 2.5 | 1.6 | .4 | .2 | 7.8 |
| Bill Robinzine$^†$ | PF | 70 | | 1,932 | 520 | 113 | 71 | 9 | 970 | 27.6 | 7.4 | 1.6 | 1.0 | .1 | 13.9 |
| Abdul Jeelani | SF | 66 | | 1,108 | 230 | 65 | 44 | 31 | 553 | 16.8 | 3.5 | 1.0 | .7 | .5 | 8.4 |
| Oliver Mack$^†$ | SG | 62 | | 1,666 | 229 | 162 | 55 | 7 | 635 | 26.9 | 3.7 | 2.6 | .9 | .1 | 10.2 |
| Geoff Huston$^†$ | PG | 56 | | 1,892 | 99 | 277 | 45 | 6 | 899 | 33.8 | 1.8 | 4.9 | .8 | .1 | 16.1 |
| Brad Davis | PG | 56 | | 1,686 | 151 | 385 | 52 | 11 | 626 | 30.1 | 2.7 | 6.9 | .9 | .2 | 11.2 |
| Winford Boynes | SG | 44 | | 757 | 75 | 37 | 23 | 16 | 287 | 17.2 | 1.7 | .8 | .5 | .4 | 6.5 |
| Stan Pietkiewicz$^†$ | SG | 36 | | 431 | 41 | 75 | 15 | 2 | 140 | 12.0 | 1.1 | 2.1 | .4 | .1 | 3.9 |
| Darrell Allums | PF | 22 | | 276 | 65 | 25 | 5 | 8 | 59 | 12.5 | 3.0 | 1.1 | .2 | .4 | 2.7 |
| Terry Duerod$^†$ | SF | 18 | | 337 | 39 | 30 | 12 | 4 | 168 | 18.7 | 2.2 | 1.7 | .7 | .2 | 9.3 |
| Joe Hassett$^†$ | SG | 17 | | 280 | 25 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 138 | 16.5 | 1.5 | 1.1 | .3 | .0 | 8.1 |
| Clarence Kea | PF | 16 | | 199 | 67 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 117 | 12.4 | 4.2 | .3 | .4 | .1 | 7.3 |
| Chad Kinch$^†$ | SG | 12 | | 106 | 9 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 38 | 8.8 | .8 | .8 | .2 | .1 | 3.2 |
| Richard Washington$^†$ | PF | 11 | | 307 | 84 | 16 | 5 | 7 | 119 | 27.9 | 7.6 | 1.5 | .5 | .6 | 10.8 |
| Austin Carr$^†$ | SG | 8 | | 77 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 9.6 | 1.1 | 1.1 | .1 | .0 | 2.0 |
| Jerome Whitehead$^†$ | C | 7 | | 118 | 28 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 37 | 16.9 | 4.0 | .3 | .6 | .1 | 5.3 |
| Ralph Drollinger | C | 6 | | 67 | 19 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 11.2 | 3.2 | 2.3 | .2 | .3 | 2.5 |
| Monti Davis$^†$ | PF | 1 | | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8.0 | 3.0 | .0 | .0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
* $^†$ Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Mavericks only.

## Transactions
### Trades

| June 9, 1980 | To Dallas Mavericks---- 1981 second-round draft pick ( Elston Turner) Future considerations | To Phoenix Suns---- Wiley Peck |
| September 11, 1980 | To Utah Jazz---- Billy McKinney | To Dallas Mavericks---- 1983 second-round draft pick ( Mark West) 1984 second-round draft pick ( Anthony Teachey) |
| September 16, 1980 | To Cleveland Cavaliers---- Mike Bratz | To Dallas Mavericks---- 1984 first-round draft pick ( Sam Perkins |
| October 30, 1980 | To "'Cleveland Cavaliers"'---- Richard Washington | To "'Dallas Mavericks"'---- Bill Robinzine 1983 first-round draft pick Derek Harper 1986 first-round draft pick Roy Tarpley |